Buying vs Leasing Solar in 2026: Which Should You Choose?

Full transcript

I. What changed in 2026

The residential clean energy credit, section twenty-five D, ended for systems placed in service after twenty twenty-five. Homeowners who buy now pay full price. Lease and power purchase agreement companies still claim commercial credits on the systems they own, and can pass part of that through.

II. Side by side

Side by side, buying means full price up front and a payback of about twelve years at the median, from ten point seven to thirteen point nine across those metros, then near-free production. A lease is typically zero down, with monthly payments and escalators from zero to three point five percent a year. Lease companies often run a credit check looking for scores around six hundred fifty or higher.

III. The long math

The comparison frames this as a twenty-five year contest. A system that pays back in about twelve years leaves roughly thirteen years of production at maintenance-only cost. On the lease side, a two point nine percent escalator nearly doubles the payment by year twenty-five.

IV. Selling the home

A home sale works differently too. The comparison notes that appraisers credit owned systems, so the value can travel with the house. A leased system instead brings assumption paperwork, buyout negotiations or payoff demands into the closing, and the page says to budget for that friction if tenure is uncertain.

V. Where leasing fits

The page names three profiles where leasing fits: households short on capital or facing costly loan quotes, owners likely to sell before payback, and people who value contractual maintenance over asset returns.

VI. Reading a lease

For any lease, it lists three documents to read: the full twenty-five year payment schedule, the buyout table by year, and the transfer terms at sale. The full comparison is free at Dreamy Leads Research. What state are you in, and what yearly escalator percentage is in your solar lease or quote? Tell us in the comments.